CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• Hours Per Week: Full-time
• Salary Range: $85,000-$93,000

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Director of Cash Accounting, Sponsored Projects Finance, the Senior Accountant is responsible for leading the cash recovery process for approximately 2,300 individual federal awards funded under individual letter of credit agreements resulting in the collection of approximately $1Billion per year as well as other noted duties below.  The Senior Accountant will train and support other members of the LOC team.

Responsibilities

• Calculates cash drawdowns for each letter of credit federal award based on the analysis of cumulative and current expenditures per Federal regulations and University policies and budgets.

• Prepares supporting documentation for the posting of sponsored project cash receipts to the appropriate project;

• Reconciles such payments and accounts receivable balances;

• Coordinates LOC activity with other members of the Sponsored Projects Finance team ensuring that cash receipts are posted to individual awards on a timely basis.

• Prepares quarterly AR write offs entries, compiles the annual sponsor-driven advance funding, tracks its subsequent draw activity, and maintains the SPF draw calendar. 

• Compiles documentation for audit queries as needed (PWC, UG, OIG and other agencies);

• Prepares and processes NSF annual program income reporting;

• Processes pay.gov and miscellaneous refunds as required.  

• Prepares weekly SPF Team Metric reports, the monthly SPF accounts payable clearing account reconciliation, and other reviews or research as needed. 

• Assists with the preparation and submission of quarterly financial reports (FCTRs) as required by some Federal agencies ensuring that the reported amounts are reconciled with ARC, the University’s financial system as well as other standard or ad hoc requirements.

• Reconciles systems and supporting documentation between the University’s financial data and financial data provided by Federal agencies, preparing any proposed adjustments to the accounting system or providing appropriate documentation to Federal agency personnel as needed.

• Works closely with the members of the SPF Cash Accounting team as well as other staff within Sponsored Projects Finance, Research Policy, and Indirect Cost, Sponsored Projects Administration, and Financial Information System for matters that may arise.

• Other special projects and duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferably in accounting required.   

• Minimum of 4 years of related work experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of research administration and/or grants management accounting is valuable but not required.

Other Requirements

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) required. 

• Must be comfortable working with databases, spreadsheets, pivot tables, v-lookups, IF function and computerized financial systems and external portals. 

• Must be able to identify priorities within multiple assignments in a high-pressured, short-deadline environment with excellent accuracy, and be able to work with diplomacy and efficiency in such an environment. 

• Must be able to demonstrate excellent organizational, analytical, critical thinking, attention to detail, high level of accuracy in work product, interpersonal, written and oral communication skills. 

• In addition, the successful candidate must be able to work well with all levels of employees, be flexible in nature, have sound judgment, willingness to learn with an open and collaborative style that encourages teamwork and cooperation beyond the immediate team to the broader organization. 

• Must have a passion for excellence, process improvement, customer service and commitment to exceptional quality. 

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.